A630.9.4.RB_HansardCarey

In the video, Mr. Schmidt asserts that you can build a culture based on the kind of people you hire. I think this is an accurate statement. If you surround yourself with capable, positive people, your organization runs smoothly. You are there to provide overall guidance and assist when necessary, but most of the time, your employees can handle things on their own. Patel (2013) says that hiring just one wrong person can send your entire culture and organization into a spin. To me, this is akin to having a classroom full of motivated, intelligent students and then, in walks the behavior problem and the entire mood and atmosphere of your classroom changes for the worse. Patel (2013) suggests that there are certain things you do and certain traits to look for when hiring employees. He says to hire people that are smarter than you. He is not necessarily referring to overall intelligence, but rather specific knowledge about the area that you are hiring for. Obviously, if I am looking for a trainer or web designer, I do not want someone who has little experience in these areas and is looking to me to help them grow and learn. (although the organization will help them grow and learn…but they need to be smart in this area from the beginning) Second, Patel (2013) says that you should hire people that are hungry. People who are already successful and are just bouncing from one big title to another are not as likely to get their hands dirty and do whatever it takes to make your organization successful. That is not always true, but it makes sense. Just by doing these two things, you set the foundation for a desirable  culture like that of Google.

I believe that the people working with me fall into the “right people” category with the exception of a scarce few. Those who do not fit in quickly find they are being escorted to the door. Everyone I work with knows his/her job well and has a positive, adaptive attitude. Because of that, it is always scary to hire a new person. I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the hiring process because people can look great on paper and they can answer the questions you ask all day long, but how do you really know that a particular individual will fit into the culture of your organization?

It takes a great amount of courage as a leader to operate under the premise that if you hire the right people, they will not need you. Turning over control of your business to others definitely requires a high level of trust in those that work for you. Some leaders are micromanagers and are unable to fathom an environment like this; however, employees would love it. Nobody likes someone hovering over her all the time telling her how to do her job and then making sure she does it the way the manager wants.

This approach will not work for everyone. During the hiring process, it is essential that the leader be able to weed out those who will not fit into the desired environment. Yet it is equally important to hire competent and knowledgeable employees. Finally, in the end, it is leadership who sets the tone for a successful organization and an effective culture. Besson (n.d.) provides five strategies a leader can use that are likely to create a desirable culture: articulate a clear mission and walk the talk; build a strategic plan that everyone understands and stands behind; communicate with your employees; be flexible; and have fun. While these strategies cannot guarantee success, they have certainly been proven to lead to it more often than not.

As for takeaways, this chapter has made me think more critically about the hiring process in general as well as the empowerment of employees. I would like to learn more about hiring employees. I have been asked to sit on several hiring committees since I have been at WW and the questions seem random and it generally seems as though most prospective hires answer the questions suitably. So how can you be sure you are hiring the right person?

As an employee, I know that I have the knowledge to do my job well and appreciate the fact that management will let me do that for the most part. However, when she does look over my shoulder and micromanage, I feel resentful and have learned that that is not the type of manager I would like to be. If I surround myself with the right people, I do not have to be.

References:

Besson, T. (n.d.). Keys to a great corporate culture:improving . Retrieved from http://www.careercast.com/career-news/keys-great-corporate-culture-improving-employee-engagement

Patel, N. (2013, April 15). How to hire: 6 traits every employee must have. Retrieved from http://www.quicksprout.com/2013/04/15/how-to-hire-6-traits-every-employee-should-have/

Schmidt, E. (Performer). (2011, May ). Eric Schmidt on business culture technology and social issues [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/eric_schmidt_on_business_culture_technology_and_social_issues

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In my opinion, yes, Tom Wujec has a point in his comparison of kindergarteners and business students. Kindergarteners go with the flow more so than adults. While kids may not have the emotional ability to deal with some of the conflict that comes with group work, they also do not have the preconceived idea about someone being higher on the totem pole than they are. In other words, they are all equal in ability in each other’s minds. Their skills may differ according to the task, but the overall group hierarchy remains flat.

Executive assistants perform better than the CEOs because the CEOs are usually the overseers of the project, but the administrative assistants are often the ones who are coordinating the project and making everything come together when it is supposed to. Duncan (2011) claims that administrative assistants have the ability to see what is going to happen before it happens, create a smooth environment for their bosses, and are able to manage temperaments and culture very well. So the CEOs are able to zoom out and see the big picture but when it comes to zooming in on the details of the project, they are not as well equipped to deal with the details as their assistants.  An example of this is right in front of me in my own organization. The CTO is great at delegating and assigning responsibilities to others. She knows what she wants to happen (the vision) and can articulate it to those around her; however, when it comes down to actually doing the work, someone else is usually responsible for that. This is not to say that she could not do it if she had to, but I certainly think that she surrounds herself with knowledgeable, skillful people and trusts that they will handle the process. The coupling of her visions and her employees’ attention to detail makes for a successful department.

Recently, at the Worldwide Conference, we were tasked with something like what is depicted in the video. It was interesting to me to watch the team dynamic at our table. None of us knew each other (which was supposed to be the point of the exercise…getting to know people better) and nobody really stood out as a leader. Eventually, after we sat there all thinking for several minutes, one of the Campus Directors and I stepped up and began to work on the project. There were 2 faculty members who did not do anything to help us build our towers and we never did get to the point where we were all working together as a team or assigning roles to one another. I wondered afterward if we had had more time, would we have been a more cohesive and well-rounded team. We did get our M&Ms to stay put on the top of our tower, but we did not have the highest tower.

If I were leading a similar exercise, I would definitely direct the group to assign tasks to members of the group. Some of the process intervention skills that I think would work well in this situation would be: clarifying, synthesizing, observing, and proving feedback (Blessing, n.d.). The first thing that should be done for the group is clarify the task ensuring that each group member understands what need to be done and the steps to take to accomplish the goal. Synthesizing happens once the group has had a chance to add their own ideas on the process of building the tower. The list can be complied and members assigned a part in the building process. The observer for the group can provide feedback about what is working and what is not so that the team can adapt and adjust along the way. Had we taken the time to do this at the conference, I believe that the entire group would have been involved and the task would have been accomplished faster and more accurately.

As for a takeaway, I have never considered actually assigning roles to people on a team. I have never been on a team where that happens. However, I definitely see the benefit of it since most of the work I do involves some kind of teamwork. In the future, should I find myself as the leader of the team, I would like to try to assign tasks and roles to my teammates to see if it helps achieve  goals in a more effectively.

References:

Blessing, M. (n.d.). Types of process intervention skills. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8007762_types-process-intervention-skills.html

Duncan, M. (2011, May). The case for executive assistants. Harvard Business Review, Retrieved from http://hbr.org/2011/05/the-case-for-executive-assistants

Wujec, T. (Performer). (2010, February ). Build a tower, build a team [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_build_a_tower.html